The top ten paranormal news stories have been selected by myself on heavily guided scientific protocol for selection. Actually, I just put a bunch of stories in a list and graded them on basic criteria. How big was the story? Did the story have a large influence on the media or social networking? How long or how big did this story become in that regard? Did the story have anything to do with furthering any aspect of the paranormal? How wide is the impact on the field? With this basic criteria I weighed the biggest stories and slowly built them into the top ten. 2013 was a hard year to do this, in years past the biggest stories were Sky Noise (2012), UFO's Over Jerusalem (2011), National Press Club Gathering on UFO's (2010), Black Hole over Norway (2009), Montauk Monster (close tie with Georgia Bigfoot Hoax, 2008), and 2013 really had no front-running story that carried it away in social media or made a huge impact in the paranormal. At any rate, the Top Ten Paranormal...

Many people in the paranormal field may be shocked when I state that ghosts do not exist. They do not exist merely because science has yet to accept them as part of the scientific realm. While they are acknowledged as part of the human experience we have been unable to verify them as a “real” phenomenon. So what will it take to prove once and for all that they are real?

When one ponders the question of “what will the best evidence of ghosts be?” a few things quickly come to mind. We tend to think immediately of our experiences and everyday attempts to find the answer to “are ghosts real?” Would that evidence be an end-all be-all photograph of a familiar former living person? Might it be an EVP that sends a specific message from the other side? Or would...

I was invited along as a guest to the spring outing of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society lead by Eric Altman (ParaNexus consultant). The expedition would include around 30 extra participants (free event, but we paid our own expenses) who served as observers, researchers, trackers, and witnesses during the two day search for signs of Bigfoot and puma. The core of the PBS was there to facilitate the event and make sure that we all got what we came for.

I arrived at the Keystone State Park area on Friday, May 17 at around 2 P.M. in the warm spring sun. I pulled into site #73 at the hillside campground area that was about ¼ mile from the lake. I chose this site as it was only two sites away from the site of Eric Altman which served as the main base for the weekend. I quickly set up my small...

2011 ended on a sad note. The latest incarnation of the Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network was disbanded due to a number of decisions. One of these deciding factors was based on the direction of the group seemingly going backwards from what I had hoped around 16 years prior. I had come to the realization that much of the foundation I had put in place had been slowly and silently eroded and I was left standing in two places at the same time. One foot was firmly planted in my beliefs; paranormal investigators were doing most of their things wrong and that while science alone isn’t the only answer there needs to be many changes in this field in order for it to be taken seriously or is able to convert...

"…when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". –Sherlock Holmes “The Sign of Four” (and variations in several other books)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes was definitely ahead of his time when it came to science. His methods predated those used in real forensic science and his way of solving crimes was based on simple logic and observation. Ironically, this quote is typically used to qualify a paranormal group as "scientific" as well as to “verify” a photo, video, or personal event as “paranormal” since no definitive explanation was immediately found, however this search may not include...

Audio recording technology has come a long way since I started out in 1996. My first recorder was a small radio sized recorder (sometimes called a shoebox recorder) that used regular cassette tapes. One tape could record 30 or 45 minutes per side with two sides, but the rule was to not record on both sides as “bleeding” of voices or noises could potentially occur. The tapes produced their own white noise in the form of a mild hiss along with any mechanical sounds of the recorder which were usually recorded unless a separate microphone was used and the recorder hidden. One learned quickly how to lubricate the device to keep these noises to a minimum or buy an external microphone. Working a case would usually mean buying a handful of tapes, although I...

The Paranormal News Insider is a short paranormal news segment that is aired during the Grand Dark Conspiracy podcast on the Shark Radio Network every Monday night at 10 P.M. eastern. While the Paranormal News Insider has been on the air since 2008 this is just the second year of creating the list of top ten stories. When looking at these stories I look at how big the story became; how was it carried in the media and social media beyond the paranormal circles? How long did it circulate? Did the story evolve over time? I’ll also look at the story and determine if it had a valuable impact on the paranormal or anomalous topics. Since there aren’t many breakthroughs when it comes to these stories it’s hard to judge which have had a larger impact positively, especially with a short amount of time to reflect on some of the stories. There are a few stories that...

On September 19, 1936, two photographers were finishing up a series of photos for a magazine when one of them suddenly saw a transparent figure coming down a set of stairs in front of them. Captain Provand, upon the request from his partner Mr. Indre Shira, hurriedly prepared the camera and took a photograph that would become the most recognizable ghost photograph in history and would legitimize the possibility of ghosts through this one still shot – or would it? While this famous photograph taken at Raynham Hall of the ghost of the “Brown Lady” is thought to be the best “real deal” photograph ever, there is a little history missing from its backstory that reveals...

On September 6, 1622, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a 112 foot Spanish galleon,sank 35 miles west of Key West, Florida, near the Dry Tortugas islands during a hurricane. The ship was more heavily armed than the other 27 ships and was thus carrying the most important people and the most cargo of the ships in its convoy. The Atocha was the rear ship and when the hurricane hit was one of eight ships to sink. It sank very quickly in 55 feet of water, and 260 of the 265 people aboard perished. The survivors were found the next day clinging to the mizzenmast, 3 crew and 2 slaves were rescued. Plans to salvage the ship were hampered by the depth as divers of that time had to hold their breath and had no masks to help them see underwater. A few weeks later another hurricane spread the wreckage across the ocean floor and salvage attempts focused on other, more accessible ships. The Atocha was then lost in time.

Many paranormal groups claim that ghost activity is heightened during full or new moons. Many trauma nurses and police claim that craziness increases during these times. There have been many reports written that verify these claims, and thus we have the term lunacy derived from the Latin term for the moon -Luna.

Is this for real or is this just madness?

Many ghost groups use a moon information graphic in addition to the space and atmospheric “weather” data on their websites. The claim is that ghost activity is heightened during (or just before/after depending upon the theory) the full or new moon phase. Is there any credibility to these pieces of data? In order to answer this we must first look...

Cougars, mountain lions, pumas, panthers, catamounts, whatever you wish to call them, do not exist east of the Mississippi river. Well, except for south Florida and there's only 50 or so of those. Yes there may have been some sightings in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and yeah there's Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and even Maine and Delaware (yes, even in all three counties of Delaware), oh, and some reports in the tiny state of Rhode Island. But, rest assured, all of these accounts are false. They are either bobcats, house...

My original intent for part III for this series on science in the ghost field was to focus on the scientific process and how the tools we use play their part. In part I, I discussed the basics of the scientific process and how that affects the field we work in. Part II centered on the advancement of tools and technology in our field and how this is a double-edged sword.

I decided to derail the subject due to a friendly debate I have been having with a colleague over the usage of the First Law of Thermodynamics. You’ve seen this quote a hundred times if you’ve visited paranormal websites or message boards:

This is what a headline read of the New York Times on March 11, 1907. Dr. Duncan MacDougall from Haverhill, Massachusetts, had placed barely living subjects on a bed which constantly weighed them as they slipped into death. MacDougall felt that the soul was material and had mass, therefore it could be measured.

His first of six human subjects died and immediately lost three-fourths of an ounce, which is 21.3 grams. MacDougall’s experiments and findings were also published in the American Medicine journal as well as the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. This experiment has lead to the belief that the soul does indeed weigh 21 grams and that the body will drop weight upon death. The former statement is folklore and the latter is true, yet not from the departure of the life force....

10. A man claims he has lured Bigfoot with the aid of a candy bar. Mike Greene, who used to be a fraud investigator (is this supposed to give him more credence or does it make you think he is educated in knowing how to pull a fast one?). Anyway, in the forests surrounding Asheboro, North Carolina, he was able to capture thermal video of...

I typically ignore what the hardcore skeptics have to say about the paranormal field. A healthy dose of skepticism is good for any type of scientific endeavor in order to keep things balanced, but many times the hardcore skeptics have an axe to grind and will argue just for the sake of arguing. I will admit, however, that I will frequently read skeptical magazines and view skeptical websites just to see what is going on with the other side as well as to keep myself grounded.

In the November/December 2010 issue of Skeptical Inquirer I was curious to see a story on the cover called “Ghost Hunting Mistakes”. I rolled my eyes and expected to see the same drivel of pointless arguments, but as I flipped to page 44 I found myself nodding in agreement in every paragraph.

I even smiled a few times as I read things that I have rallied against for a number of years as the...

Joseph Banks Rhine changed the face of Psychical Research (Parapsychology) when he took experimental research to a new level in the late 1920’s. It was then that he created the Zener cards, or ESP cards, as a new form of testing for Extra Sensory Perception.

ESP can be thought of as receptive psychic energy and can be simply defined as the ability to gain knowledge through means other than the five physical senses or by logical inference. ESP is broken into three categories; telepathy (awareness of information in the mind of another), clairvoyance (ability to receive information from objects or events from present time), and precognition (receiving information about objects or events in the future). Of these three, clairvoyance is the focus in basic ESP card...

I sit here at my hotel room at the Hawthorn in Dayton, Ohio late in the evening on Saturday, August 21st. Today I was a speaker at the second annual Ohio Paranormal Convention here in Dayton alongside John Sabol, the Ghost Excavator and many time guest of the ParaNexus Universe. I noticed a common theme this year at the convention that was touched by only a few in attendance last year; the culture of our field and its influence by the television shows and the internet.

In John's half of our joint presentation he made several comments about how our field has been negatively influenced by television and how our field lacks true direction by performing horizontal investigations instead of connecting with hauntings/apparitions through their culture (instead of through our 21st century technology). I also made many statements that our field was going in circles with the blind leading the blind. Two television shows were represented by guests in attendance at the convention;...

"The Art and Science of Paranormal Investigation" picks up where “How to Become a Successful Paranormal Group”, the first book in this series, left off. This book is geared toward those who know the basics beyond what is portrayed on television and the internet and this next chapter takes a step forward into the world of client centered paranormal investigations. Learn the art of the interview including basic body language that can help in interviews as well as everyday situations. Learn advanced interview techniques that are simple to use that will help your client remember the most detail and...

The art, or rather science, of body language is a relatively new pursuit as far as science is concerned. Kinesics, the study of body language or communication outside of the verbal aspect, is still not a formal discipline since so much is still being discovered about the nonverbal habits of humans and the many diverse things that affect it from person to person and from culture to culture (though most facial expressions are actually the same from culture to culture).

I was very fortunate to be invited to share a night at the Mansfield Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio with a group out of Columbus that I had talked to for a number of months. The investigation would be with 15 or less people and he only had room for four of our investigators. We had tested our equipment during prior investigations and again prior to being at the Reformatory, but ultimately we encountered issues with a few of our infra red cameras. We spent a lot of time messing with cables and other issues while the other group made its way around the facility. By 11 P.M. we decided to just go with three IR cameras and set up a few other mini DVD cameras in spots we wanted to cover.

I put together a video that discusses some of the history behind the location, so I will not discuss it here. As far as the paranormal history it is vast, not to mention the

"Technology has advanced so quickly that it's just a matter of time until the truth of ghosts are unveiled."

Not my words folks and that's why they're in quotes. I agree that technology has advanced in the field of paranormal investigation even since I have been a part of it, but does that mean we are really closer to finding answers? Some seem to think so, but personally I think it actually has set us back a bit.

I have always been analytical and have survived on logic since I was a child. To many this may sound like a strength, but I was the quiet kid who sat alone and watched how others interacted. I have relied more on analysis and experience to guide me through life rather than using my gut or taking a leap of faith. I have always searched for an outlet for my analytical and logical ways other than devouring any book I could get my hands on. I never had much in the way of belief for the anomalous fields, since I had learned Parapsychology, UFOlogy, and Cryptozoology were based on guess work and random spontaneous experiences and were nothing short of junk science (with the word science used loosely).

Writing a book is a long and tedious process. During this process, for me at least, there are times when the creative juices flow and it seems your work is close to completion. At other times, it seems as though I will never finish! I am currently working on my third book in a series aimed toward the amateur paranormal investigator or ghost hunter.

We conducted our first formal investigation of Farnam Manor in Richfield, Ohio on March 6, 2010. Our hopes were high as we had collected some great EVPs while just touring the building a couple of weeks prior. We had collected numerous personal stories from the owners, Tim and Kathy, and were excited to investigate this inviting old building in detail. Our focus was also to collect investigation evidence for our presentation at the Farnam Manor Spirit Tour, which was a fundraiser for the Farnam Foundation to help raise some money and awareness for this historical building.

The investigation began slowly as we had to wait for the owners to get us into the building as they had thought we would be there on a different day. We ended up conducting our team meeting in our Equipment Manager's truck...

"Did you hear that?" The flashlight beam flares behind the men searching for the source of the sound. "What the hell was it?" The men stand still and quiet, their heartbeats the only audible source filling their ears. They quickly lose patience and turn toward the dark empty hallway...

Sound familiar? It should. This image is replayed in houses, abandoned buildings and prisons all across the...

I orginally wrote part of this article for the Handbook used for my group, Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network, a few years later I added some more detail and put it on a blog. I felt it was important that my investigators realized what the bottom line was, besides helping clients, and I wanted to share the scientific philosophy with the field that seems to use the word "science" and "scientific" very loosely at times. Last year I shared the link of the blog with the members of ParaNexus and the article was included in the September-October, 2009 edition of The Journal of Anomalous Sciences. This was a big moment for me and made me realize that I owed it to the field to share as much as I knew about the process of science. The earlier version of this article made it into my first book, "Handbook for the Amateur Paranormal Investigator or Ghost Hunter: How to Become a Successful Paranormal Group". I am in the process of finishing a Part II to the series and will...

Late last year I presented “The Power of Belief in Paranormal Investigation” to an audience at the Northeast Ohio Paranormal Conference in Rootstown, Ohio. In this I discussed some of the belief systems that are in place and how we approach them (I’ll be discussing more of these topics later in future blog posts). One of the topics I touched on was the belief factor in the overall production of ghostly events. This was actually a last minute addition to my presentation, but was one that generated a lot of questions during and after the event.

I had originally posted this article on my Paranormal News Insider blog on November of 2009, but I wanted to re-post it here to a more specific audience. I may do the same with some other articles I have posted there as well as some future articles since there is a concentration of critical thinking paranormal investigators here.

I had an interesting conversation with a gentleman who is part of a fairly well known location that is a hub for paranormal investigators and ghost hunters during a speaking engagement at a library in Grafton, Ohio last October. We were discussing plans on my group possibly coming out to the location to investigate particular aspects of the environment (humidity and other factors) during the colder months of the year when the conversation shifted toward something that I had often thought of; are ghost hunting and paranormal investigation groups ruining...

Brian D. Parsons is the Executive Director for ParaNexus. He is formerly the Director of the Ohio Paranormal Investigation Network (now a client/investigator help site) and has been investigating ghostly claims since 1996. He has also studied under the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual for the various aspects of UFO investigations and has been a freelance cryptid researcher and investigator studying various cases in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.